Clinton rebuts GOP criticism over Benghazi

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton engaged in six hours of sometimes aggressive questioning from both sides of Capitol Hill on Wednesday over the deaths of four Americans in the attack on U.S. diplomatic outposts in Benghazi, Libya.

Clinton — whose testimony was delayed for more than a month because of health reasons — stood her ground in a tenser hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the morning and wasn’t rattled in an afternoon outing before the GOP-controlled House Foreign Affairs Committee, where boosterism ran high over a possible 2016 presidential bid.

Text Size

McCain v. Clinton on Benghazi aftermath

Paul to Clinton: I would have fired you

PHOTOS: Clinton's many expressions

On both sides of the Capitol, she accepted personal blame for the security lapses that led to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, resulting in the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, among others.

“As I have said many times since Sept. 11, I take responsibility. Nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure,” Clinton said.

Clinton was visibly emotional during the Senate hearing, especially when she talked about the deaths of Stevens, Foreign Service information officer Sean Smith, and two members of Embassy security personnel, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.

“For me, this is not just a matter of policy … it’s personal,” she said. “I stood next to President [Barack] Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters.”

This is likely Clinton’s last high-profile testimony as secretary before a congressional committee, though she will appear on the Hill Thursday to introduce Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who has been nominated to succeed her at Foggy Bottom.

One of the tensest exchanges came before the Senate committee under questioning by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who asked why evacuees from Benghazi were not immediately questioned about the cause of the attack.

“A very simple phone call to these individuals would have ascertained very quickly there was no protest,” he said, charging Americans were misled by administration talking points.

“With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans,” Clinton said, with her voice rising. “Was it because of a protest or was it because a guy goes out for a walk one night and decided to go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator.”

“I saw firsthand what Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen called ‘timely’ and ‘exceptional’ coordination. No delays in decision-making,” she said early in her testimony. “No denials of support from Washington or from the military. And I want to echo the Review Board’s praise for the valor and courage of our people on the ground — especially the security professionals in Benghazi and Tripoli. The board said our response saved American lives in real time — and it did.”